He hands me the fragile envelopes containing letters between two women – women whose half-century of friendship, of fond regard for one another, is documented through written words.

David Anderson, a Mattapoisett resident, has once again invited me to peek into the past – a past preserved in his family’s letters that he so graciously hands to me. He is especially keen to show me a letter sent to his grandmother, Mary B. H. Ransom, from her friend Huybertie Pruyn Hamlin (1873-1964). Hamlin, I would learn, had a relationship with the Roosevelts and often spent time at the White House.

I slip the letter from the tiny, slim envelope. It seems too small to contain important historical references as promised by Anderson. But then I read, “It has been a wonderful six weeks here full of historic events. I saw the ‘Union of Nations’ agreement signed in the President’s study Friday evening. I stood by the desk, he signed first, then Churchill then Litvinoff and finally Soong for China. It is a great paper. I also went with the President and Mrs. R and Mr. Churchill and his party to New Year Service at Christ Church in Alexandria and then to Mt. Vernon where Mr. Churchill placed a wreath on the tomb. Best wishes, H.P. Hamlin.” The letter was written on January 5, 1942.

            Hamlin was a summer resident in Mattapoisett for many decades. As a frequent guest of the Roosevelts, with whom her family was well acquainted, she had occasions to meet many of the international movers and shakers of those bygone days.

As the wife of Charles Hamlin, the first governor of the Federal Reserve Board, the White House was a familiar place to her. Several Hamlin letters were written on White House stationary.

Anderson tells me that the document Hamlin spoke of was the precursor to the creation of the United Nations that will celebrate its 75^th anniversary in January 2017. He feels it is timely to share Hamlin’s letter describing her firsthand account of the historic signing.

As we read passages from the letters Ransom received from Hamlin, Anderson passes along bits of family folklore and historical facts.

Anderson believes that his grandmother’s membership in the Women’s Democratic Club, as well as her prominent position as postmistress, aided in bringing the two women close. In spite of that shared connection, Anderson doubts they would have socialized.

“My grandmother was a commoner. Mrs. Hamlin was a Brahmin,” Anderson said. “That’s the way it was back then,” he added.

He speculates that maybe Ransom’s securing of the esteemed position of postmistress was influenced by Hamlin’s connections in Washington. It’s not so far-fetched. Regardless, the two women remained close via letters for five decades.

The letters are like time capsules that intrigue and conspire, pushing Anderson to continue his research and investigations looking into the past and preserving it for the future.

He points to a set of letters from Hamlin with thick, black borders. Anderson said, “I think she was in mourning.” He says the Hamlins had only one child, Anna, who perished in her early twenties. One can’t help but be touched, even now, by this mother’s sorrow.

Another missive from Hamlin dated November 28, 1941 is precious for how it allows her personality to come through. She wrote to Ransom, “I am sleeping in Lincoln’s huge walnut bed. The back reaches up about ten feet and is all carved with fruit and birds, a really hideous Victorian product.” You can almost hear her chuckling.

In that same letter Hamlin laments, “But I miss my dear Mattapoisett terribly. I find it hard to walk or ride, walk again after seventeen months of sand and woods. I love the peace and quiet and my lovely glassed in piazza … and the dear dogs.” Hamlin’s summer home was located on Ned’s Point at the very end facing the harbor. It was known as the Shattuck house in her day. The Hamlins also owned a large farm estate across the road.

Anderson has not confined his research solely to the family letters. On his desk is a copy of Old Mattapoisett: A Summer Portrait by Edward Wood. (A volume is available for check-out at the library.) The book is an authoritative collection of facts and pictures well worth the reading for those interested in local history.

Anderson’s joy in studying the family letters and sharing them comes shining through as he says with a broad smile, “Isn’t it wonderful!” Yes, it most certainly is.

To learn more about Huybertie Hamlin visit http://melvilliana.blogspot.com/2016/04/huybertie-lansing-pruyn-hamlin-1873.html or check out Wood’s book where Mattapoisett summers are forever captured within its pages.

By Marilou Newell

They might be just “three old men” out picking vegetables now, but the trio is part of a community project that, with a little outreach, established its roots a little bit deeper and wider this year.

Bob Nichols, Bill O’Keefe, and Jim Bradshaw, who have been tilling the soil and growing vegetables, fruits, and flowers at the community garden on the corner of Prospect and Pine Island for five to seven years now, got what they wanted this year – a full house and a hearty harvest.

“It’s been a phenomenal growing season,” said Nichols, “The tomatoes – they love the hot, hot weather.”

Since Nichols and his raspberry patch first graced the cover of The Wanderer back in May, Nichols said residents interested in securing a spot at the community garden came forward, leading to the addition of four new gardeners to the group.

“We even have two people on the waiting list,” said Nichols.

On the Friday morning of September 9, Nichols was planting some radishes and winter root vegetables by seed, while O’Keefe and Bradshaw harvested some tomatoes, squashes, and one of Bradshaw’s prized gigantic two-and-a-half-foot-long calabassa squashes grown from seeds that Nichols brought back from Barcelona. They also stood marveling at a second calabassa, still on the vine, now approaching three feet long and still growing.

“I’d say everybody up here this summer is pleased,” said Nichols, who himself collected about 38 quarts of raspberries from one of his garden plots. Looking around at the land, each rectangle of garden bed overflowing with vegetation and the scents of an end-of-the-summer harvest, Nichols stated, “Mission accomplished.”

Although there is a waiting list, Nichols said there may be a shift in garden plots next year, and perhaps a few added, so anyone interested in joining in the community garden next year should email him at cbcrescentbch@comcast.net.

By Jean Perry